During a conflict, the precise toll of military losses is a closely guarded secret by military command. This serves both to maintain civilian morale and to hide vulnerabilities from the enemy. In the case of Rwanda, this tactical and human consideration is compounded by yet another factor.

Despite evidence gathered since November 2021 by United Nations investigators and documented in semiannual reports, Kigali has denied deploying its troops in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This raises a crucial question: What happens to the bodies of Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) soldiers killed in North Kivu or South Kivu while fighting alongside the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement (M23) rebels?

Drawing on satellite images taken on 14 different dates between January 2017 and July 2025, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has provided a possible answer. By comparing the images (posted on X on Thursday, September 4) of the Kanombe military cemetery in Kigali, HRW noted "a large increase of graves since the M23 armed group and Rwanda Defence offensive on Goma and Bukavu, in eastern DR Congo, in January 2025."

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